Central Point, OR – Southern Oregon cheesemaker Rogue Creamery has announced a limited release of one of its most distinctive cheeses, Bluehorn Blue. This unique and richly-flavored blue cheese is now available for purchase through their website and in a number of wholesale distributors nationwide.
Bluehorn Blue was honored with a Super Gold medal at the 2022 World Cheese Awards, placing among the top 96 cheeses in the world. It is made with Certified Organic pasteurized cows milk and aged about six months. After an extended period of time in Rogue Creamery’s aging caves, each wheel of Bluehorn is soaked in red wine made from organic, biodynamic Syrah grapes grown in Southern Oregon at award-winning Troon Vineyard.
“Bluehorn Blue is a favorite of our team and customers. It’s rich, buttery, creamy – an opulent and luxurious style of blue with deep, nuanced flavors and a beautiful purple hue to the rind. By soaking the wheels in red wine, we highlight the unique fruity and berry flavors that are found naturally in our classic blue cheese recipe,” said Rogue Creamery’s Cheese Emissary, Marguerite Merritt.
Merritt continued, commenting on Rogue Creamery’s relationship with Troon Vineyard: “Our cheeses are best in class, and when we were searching for a wine to complement that superior level of quality, we immediately thought of Troon Vineyard. Like Rogue, Troon is a classic, local Southern Oregon brand that embodies the best that our agricultural region has to offer. What’s more, they are pioneering sustainability practices and initiatives, which aligns perfectly with our own company’s values.”
Troon Vineyard was the first estate farm in Oregon and the second winery in the world to become Regenerative Organic Certified™️. According to their website, “the Regenerative Organic Certification is a revolutionary new certification that champions farmers who go above and beyond in the three pillars of this certification: soil health, animal welfare, and social fairness.”
Several months ago, Rogue Creamery team members met with Troon’s winemaking and vineyard management team to select which of their wines would be optimally suited to use for soaking the Bluehorn Blue cheese. They ultimately selected a Syrah made from a single vineyard block, where the unique soil composition allows the ground to heat up earlier in the year – resulting in a riper and more densely-flavored wine. These are the exact same grapevines that provide leaves to wrap Rogue Creamery’s World Championship-winning blue cheese, Rogue River Blue.
“When Rogue Creamery sought to use grape leaves from our biodynamic organic vineyard for their World Champion Rogue River Blue, we knew the leaves would have to come from the expressive Syrah vines in block 14,” said Craig Camp, General Manager of Troon Vineyard. “We are now honored that Rogue Creamery has also selected our Syrah wine from this same vineyard to use in their Bluehorn Blue. To have our leaves and wines used in these world-class cheeses is a unique marriage of exceptional winegrowing and cheesemaking.”
May is recognized as Oregon Wine Month, created by the Oregon wine industry to celebrate the state’s world-renowned wine scene. “It feels particularly timely that we are able to reintroduce this cheese during Oregon Wine Month,” commented Ms. Merritt. “In Bluehorn, we’ve created a cheese that reflects the terroir of Southern Oregon and the region’s winemaking traditions.”
To purchase cheese for your retail store or restaurant, please email wholesale@roguecreamery.com to inquire about wholesale availability. Bluehorn Blue is available now for direct purchase at roguecreamery.com.
